Spotlight: Virgin Money Charity Credit Card

The deal

Spend money on Virgin's new card and 1 per cent will go to your chosen charity.

The good points

Most charity cards donate only 0.25 per cent of what you spend. Virgin's card hands over 0.8 per cent and, because it allows cardholders to use Gift Aid, it grosses up to 1 per cent of spending.

The bad points

The typical charging rate is 12.9 per cent and the balance transfer rate is 8.9 per cent, so there are better deals around on standard cards. There is also a 2 per cent balance transfer fee which climbs to 2.98 per cent if you don't transfer the balance within 60 days.

Conclusion

This is much better than any other charity credit card and it allows you to change the chosen charity if you wish, to support a topical good cause such as the Haiti campaign, for instance. However, if you have a large outstanding balance, it could be better to get a cheaper card and make separate donations.